Destined
by youhaveme
Summary: The memories of drowning in the bottom of the quarry and seeing the love of his life with his brother is too much to bare, so Stefan once again attempts to leave Mystic Falls. This time, things turn out a bit differently.


When do you finally it's time to give up? When you heart has been broken beyond repair? Or when you're too weak to fight for what once caused you so much happiness? For Stefan, it was both. It took all his physical and emotional strength to wake up every morning and face the day. Eyes that once held purpose and love, now reflect his sorrow and unwillingness to live. Everyday he has had to pretend to not be tormented by the memories of the three months he spent locked in the safe underwater. He has been able to successfully manage to fool everyone- everyone except himself. When he's alone, the memories come flooding back like the water filling his lungs and it feels like he's dying all over again. The pain is unimaginable.

Mystic Falls has only brought him pain and memories that will never be erased from his brain. The air he breathes is toxic and his condition will only get worse if he stays any longer. That's why he's finally conjured up all his strength to once again fill his suitcase with his belongings and attempt to escape the town that has kept him prisoner. No thoughts occupy his mind as he grabs a hold of any personal belonging he wishes to take with him considering he'll never be returning to Mystic Falls. He stops once the room is bare of any object that held meaning to him.

Stefan takes in a deep breath as his fingers curl around the material of the bag, and he flings it over his shoulder. He takes a second to take notice if anyone was moving around the house, anyone who would notice his flee. As expected, the only person in the house was Elena and thankfully she was asleep. As he was packing, he pushed the image of her face to the back of his mind not wanting her to influence his decision in any way. He couldn't allow himself to think about her, it simply hurt too much. Whenever he sees her with Damon, he wishes he was drowning all over again in that safe.

His jaw clenches as he forces himself to take a step towards his door and another until he's finally walking down the stairs and to the door. His fingers are only centimeters from the door handle when something stops him. He feels her presence and it causes every muscle in his body to freeze. "Stefan?" Her words are laced with curiosity as he obviously takes notice of the bag flung over his shoulder. Stefan's eyes close and his world stops. This was the last thing he wanted to happen, how was he going to explain to her that he was leaving once and for all? He mentally slapped himself for feeling guilty of leaving her when he has every right to leave after everything she has done.

"Stefan, what's going on?" She asks again, walking down the steps to meet him cautiously. Stefan clears his throat before turning his body to face her. "What does it look like I'm doing, Elena?" He replies, causing her eyebrows to furrow in confusion. "I'm leaving." He states, with no emotion detectable in his voice.

Her lips part in surprise as she finally realizes what's going on. "Why?" Her question causes anger to rush over him and his fingers curl into fists. "You can seriously be asking me that." Stefan's head shakes, finding it humorous that she has failed to see the hell he's been going through for the past week.

"Are you leaving because of me and Damon?" She questions, taking a step towards him. He simply shakes his head once again before biting his lip, preventing the cruel words he's close to spilling. How could she even ask him that? Has she forgotten that he died over a hundred time through the course of three months? Does she really believe that that experience did not scar him? "Then why are you leaving, Stefan?" She asks once again, this time with a more demanding tone.

"Because this town has brought me nothing but pain!" He exclaims, unable to restrain himself from revealing his true reasons for leaving. "I've died in this town more times that I would have liked and I can't stay here any longer and if I do I'll lose my mind! Can't you see that?" The bag holding my belongings drops to the floor with a thud and I take a step closer to her. "Staying in this town has to be by far the worst decision I've ever made in my life." Stefan's anger quickly rises and he takes another step towards. "I regret every second that I've spent in this town!"

He stops when he realizes how close their bodies are to each other. His breathing is irregular and his emerald eyes are locked on her own. She's left speechless by his words and her eyes show the pain they caused in her. His words hurt because she hasn't forgotten. As much as she tries to hide it, she hasn't forgotten the love they once shared. How could she forget the love that gave her purpose and ignited her soul? No, she hasn't forgotten but she's forced to lock it in a cage far away where she's not able to find it. She hides it from herself because she doesn't deserve it, not after everything she's done.

"You regret saving me?" Her words are laced with hurt that surprised Stefan. He watched as she batted her eyes, trying to prevent the tears from slipping. Confusing washes over his face, and his head leans to the right. "I don't regret coming to Mystic Falls, I regret staying, Elena. I should have left the second after I saved you. If I would have left, things would be better." He responds, his gaze dropping down to the floor beneath them. His eyes fail to notice the tear sliding down Elena's cheek.

"How can you say that?" She says in disbelief. "If you would have left, I-I don't know what would have happened to me." Stefan's eyes go up to meet her own and he finally sees the condition she is in. Tears are freely cascading down from her eyes and her bottom lip quivers. "How can you say that!" She yells, her hands coming in contact with my chest, pushing me backwards. "Things would have not been better if you would have left, Stefan. We saved each other from our demons and we learned how to live again. Things would not be better if you would have left!" Her chest rises up and down and she stands before him, with her fingers curled up in fists.

"I can't stay here, Elena." He finally says after a long moment of silence. His shoulders slump down in defeat. "I'm going crazy. I'm slowly losing my self more by the second. I need to leave." Soon enough, a tear streams down his own cheek and he hears Elena gasp at the sight of it. His façade finally crumbled and she finally noticed the inner war he's been hiding from her. Without hesitation, she rests the palm of her hands on the sides of his face and she rests her forehead against his. Stefan doesn't back away from her touch because of how much he's missed the electricity that courses through his body upon her touch.

"I-I'm so sorry." She says whilst her thumbs caresses his cheeks. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She repeats, as her tears continue to stream down like a waterfall. Stefan's fingers curl around her wrists as he slowly nods. "Don't apologize, Elena. Just let me leave." At the end of the day, if Elena for some reason would beg him to stay, he would. Because he loves her more than he loves himself and she's perfectly aware of that. He brings his thumb to her cheek to dry her tears, hating the sight of her crying. "If I want to get better I need to leave Mystic Falls, please understand that."

It takes her a couple of seconds to finally nod her head at his words. "I know." Her words causes the corners of his lips to twitch up before he caresses her cheek, looking into her eyes conveying the love he feels for her one last time. His hand drops down back to his side and he steps away from her to reach for his bag. His fingers curl around the doorknob and he twists it to open the door of the boarding house. As soon as he's about to take a step outside, Elena places a hand on his shoulder forcing his body in her direction. He doesn't have time to react because her lips crash up onto his and her fingers travel up his shoulders to his neck and finally rest on his cheeks.

Finally, she slowly detaches her lips from his and Stefan is left speechless by her actions. "I'll wait for you. I love you, Stefan and I swear that I wait as long as it takes. When you're ready, we'll be together again." Stefan searches her eyes, trying to figure out if her words hold truth and a smile tugs on lips when he knows she speaking honestly. Slowly, he starts finding traces of the girl he fell in love with and his world finally starts making a bit more sense again. He nods his head, because there are no words necessary.

A step is taken backwards and another until he manages to gather up enough strength to turn his back to her walk to his car. He can feel her eyes locked on his figure and he can't help the smile on his lips. As much as he wants to run to her and say that she does not need to wait, he knows that they both need to find themselves again before they can truly love each other again. Doesn't matter to him how long it will take, because in the end it will always be Stefan and Elena. They are destined.


End file.
